U.S. patent application number 10/023574 was filed with the patent office on 2002-07-04 for embroidery stitching device and sewing machine having a free arm.
Invention is credited to Murakami, Eiji, Omiya, Koshiro, Sano, Yasuro.
Application Number | 20020083873 10/023574 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 18864390 |
Filed Date | 2002-07-04 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020083873 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Sano, Yasuro ; et
al. |
July 4, 2002 |
Embroidery stitching device and sewing machine having a free
arm
Abstract
A sewing machine having a free arm which is provided with free
arm sensors 5 and 6 for detecting a contact between the free arm
and a cylindrical work during embroidery stitching operation, the
cylindrical work being held by an embroidering frame 23 and placed
on the free arm as covering the same so as to be embroidered
thereon. The contact as detected is indicated to the machine user
or the sewing machine is stopped. Further, the contact detection
may be used to seek an area where the work may be allowed to be
embroidered. The area as sought is discriminated prior to
initiation of stitching operation if the work may be embroidered in
the area.
Inventors: |
Sano, Yasuro; (Tokyo,
JP) ; Omiya, Koshiro; (Tokyo, JP) ; Murakami,
Eiji; (Tokyo, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Kevin S. Lemack
Nields & Lemack
176 E. Main Street
Westboro
MA
01581
US
|
Family ID: |
18864390 |
Appl. No.: |
10/023574 |
Filed: |
December 18, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
112/102.5 |
Current CPC
Class: |
D05B 21/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
112/102.5 |
International
Class: |
D05B 021/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 28, 2000 |
JP |
2000-399656 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An embroidery stitching device having a free arm comprising,
means for holding a work to be embroidered and for moving said
work, means provided on said free arm to detect a contact or access
between said work and said free arm.
2. The embroidery stitching device as defined in claim 1, further
comprising means which is responsive to a detecting signal from
said detecting means to detect an area where said work is to be
moved.
3. The embroidery stitching device as defined in claim 2, further
comprising means for indicating said area where said work is to be
moved.
4. The embroidery stitching device as defined in claim 2, further
comprising means for giving information regarding a pattern to be
embroidered to said work and means responsive to said information
from said information giving means and said area detected by said
detecting means to discriminate if said pattern may be embroidered
or not.
5. The embroidery stitching device as defined in claim 4, further
comprising means for designating a position where said pattern is
embroidered.
6. The embroidery stitching device as defined in claim 4, further
comprising means for designating a position where said pattern is
embroidered, said position designating means being operated to
change an embroidering position in case said discriminating means
discriminates said pattern to be not embroidered.
7. The embroidery stitching device as defined in claim 4, further
comprising means for designating a size of a pattern to be
embroidered.
8. The embroidery stitching device as defined in claim 4, further
comprising means for designating a size of a pattern to be
embroidered and means for changing the designated size of the
pattern in case the size of the patern designated by said
designating means is discriminated by said discriminating means to
be something to be improper for embroidering.
9. An embroidery stitching sewing machine having a free arm
comprising, means for holding a work to be embroidered and for
moving said work, means provided on said free arm to detect a
contact or access between said work and said free arm.
10. The embroidery stitching sewing machine as defined in claim 9,
further comprising means which is responsive to a detecting signal
from said detecting means to detect an area where said work is to
be moved.
11. The embroidery stitching sewing machine defined in claim 10,
further comprising means for indicating said area where said work
is to be moved.
12. The embroidery stitching sewing machine as defined in claim 10,
further comprising means for giving information regarding a pattern
to be embroidered to said work and means responsive to said
information from said information giving means and said detected
area detected by said detecting means to discriminate if said
pattern may be embroidered or not.
13. The embroidery stitching sewing machine as defined in claim 12,
further comprising means for designating a position where said
pattern is embroidered.
14. The embroidery stitching sewing machine as defined in claim 12,
further comprising means for designating a position where said
pattern is embroidered, said position designating means being
operated to change an embroidering position in case said
discriminating means discriminates said pattern to be not
embroidered.
15. The embroidery stitching sewing machine as defined in claim 12,
further comprising means for designating a size of a pattern to be
embroidered.
16. The embroidery stitching sewing machine as defined in claim 12,
further comprising means for designating a size of a pattern to be
embroidered and means for changing the designated size of the
pattern in case the size of the patern designated by the
designating means is discriminated by said discriminating means to
be something to be improper for embroidering.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND RELATED ART STATEMENT
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to embroidery stitching device
and sewing machine having a free arm and more particularly relates
to the embroidery stitching device and sewing machine having a free
arm which is provided to embroider a cylindrical work thereon and
has sensor means for detecting a condition that a part of the work
contacts the free arm during stitching operation to prevent the
work from being further stitched and then for determining and/or
indicating an area where the work may be embroidered.
[0003] 2. Prior Art
[0004] It is generally known that a sewing machine or device for
embroidery stitching is provided with a free arm which is used in
case embroidery patterns are stitched at a work of cylindrical
shape such as a sleeve of clothes. In case an embroidery stitching
operation is carried out at the cylindrical work which is held by
an embroidering frame and placed on the free arm as surrounding the
same, it is required to move the embroidering frame in an area
where the embroidering frame is allowed to move without the work
being caught by the free arm. If the stitching operation is
continued beyond the area, the mechanism and/or the work may be
damaged.
[0005] As to the embroidery stitching device and sewing machine
having a free arm, the area where the embroidering frame may be
moved is generally predetermined at the time of production of the
device and/or sewing machine having a specific design while the
area where the free arm may allow the work to move is different in
dependence upon the individual works to be embroidered.
[0006] The machine user is, therefore, required to calculate the
size of the work to be embroidered so as to decide if the work may
be embroidered in the predetermined area. It is actually a very
troublesome task for the machine user to make the decision. The
decision, if not correct, will cause a damage of the work and/or
the mechanism.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The invention has been provided to eliminate the defects and
disadvantages of the prior art.
[0008] I is, therefore, a primary object of the invention to
provide embroidery stitching device and sewing machine having a
free arm having sensor means provided therewith to detect if the
work is in contact with the free arm during stitching operation and
to decide and/or indicate an area where the work may be
stitched.
[0009] It is another object of the invention to provide the
stitching area deciding and/or indicating device which is simple in
structure and reliable in operation.
[0010] The other objects and advantages of the invention will be
apparent in the following detailed description of the invention in
reference to preferred embodiments.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] For attaining the objects, the embroidery stitching device
having a free arm of the invention comprises means for holding a
work to be embroidered and for moving the work, means provided on
the free arm to detect a contact or access between said work and
said free arm.
[0012] The detecting means may detect a contact or access between
said work and said free arm to stop the embroidery stitching device
or to indicate the machine user to take a required action.
[0013] The embroidery stitching device may include means which is
responsive to a detecting signal from the detecting means to detect
an area where the work may be moved and indicate the machine user
to decide if the stitching operation may be continued or not.
[0014] The embroidery stitching device may further include means
for giving information regarding a pattern to be embroidered to the
work and means responsive to the information from the information
giving means and the information from the detecting means to
discriminate if the pattern may be embroidered in the detected
area.
[0015] In this case, it is preferable that embroidery stitching
device further includes means for designating a position where the
pattern is embroidered, the position designating means being
operated to change an embroidering position in case the
discriminating means discriminates that the pattern will not be
embroidered in the detected area.
[0016] It is further preferable that the embroidery stitching
device includes means for designating a size of a pattern to be
embroidered and means for changing the designated size of the
pattern in case the size of the pattern designated by the
designating means is discriminated by the discriminating means to
be something to be improper for embroidering.
[0017] The embroidery stitching device as above mentioned will be
made up in a swing machine for embroidery stitching operation.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0018] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the functions of an
embodiment of the invention by way of example.
[0019] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the
invention having a free arm.
[0020] FIG. 3 is an essential part of the embodiment of the
invention shown in vertical section in one condition between the
free arm and a work to be stitched on the free arm.
[0021] FIG. 4 is the essential part of the embodiment of the
invention shown in vertical section in another condition between
the free arm and a work to be stitched on the free arm.
[0022] FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing one mode of operations of the
embodiment of the invention.
[0023] FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing another mode of operations of
the embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0024] The invention will be described in reference to the
embodiments as shown in the attached drawings.
[0025] FIGS. 1 and 2 show a sewing machine having an embroidery
stitching device provided therewith wherein CPU 1 is used to
control the general operations of the swing machine by means of the
programs stored in a program memory 10. The CPU 1 controls the
operation of a machine motor 31 through a machine motor drive
circuit 30 to drive a stitch forming mechanism 33, thereby to form
stitches. As shown in FIG. 2, the stitch forming mechanism 33
includes a needle 35. The rotation speed of the machine motor 31 is
detected by a rotation speed sensor 32 and is feedbacked to the CPU
1. A timing signal generating device 34 is provided to produce a
timing signal.
[0026] Further, a display 41 is provided to indicate various
information thereat under control of a display control device
40.
[0027] As shown in FIG. 2, an embroidering frame 23 is arranged to
move in X-Y directions on a free arm 50 of the sewing machine. The
embroidering frame 23 may be moved by an X-Y moving mechanism 22
which are operated by X and Y motors 21 which are driven under
control of an X-Y motor drive circuit 20.
[0028] A stitch data memory 11 is provided to have various stitch
data stored therein for embroidering various embroidery patterns
which may be optionally selected with a variable size by operation
of pattern selecting buttons 2. Further, a needle position
designating button 3 is provided to designate a position where an
embroidery pattern is stitched.
[0029] Further, a temporary memory 12 is provided to temporally
store required data therein.
[0030] The free arm 50 has a free arm sensor 5 and another free arm
sensor 6 provided thereat. The free arm sensor 5 is, as shown in
FIG. 2, is located at a front side of the free arm in the
Y-direction and the free arm sensor 6 is located at a rear side of
the free arm in the Y-direction so as to detect a work 60 to be
stitched as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.
[0031] According to the embodiment, the free arm sensors 5 and 6
are switches which may be pushed by the work 60 to be operative to
detect the contact between the work 60 and the free arm 50 while
the work 60 is moved as the embroidering frame 23 is moved.
[0032] A frame moving button 4 is provided so as to be operated to
reciprocatingly move the embroidering frame 23 in the Y-direction,
so that the machine user may confirm that a part of the work 60
will come to contact the free arm sensors 5, 6 and may change the
moving direction of the embroidering frame 23 when a signal is
produced from the free arm sensors 5, 6.
[0033] A calculating device 7 is provided for calculating an area
where an embroidery pattern may be stitched. The calculating device
7 is responsive to a signal from the free arm sensors 5, 6 to
calculate out the embroidery pattern stitching area in the
Y-direction.
[0034] A discriminating device 8 is provided for discriminating if
a selected pattern may be embroidered or not. Precisely the
discriminating device 8 is responsive to pattern selecting
information produced by pattern selecting operation of the pattern
selecting buttons 2 to discriminate if the selected pattern may be
embroidered or not, the information including a size of the
selected pattern, an embroidery stitching position designated by
operation of the needle position designating button 3 and an
embroidery pattern stitching area calculated out by the device
7.
[0035] With the constituent elements being provided in combination
as mentioned above, the CPU 1 is responsive to the signal from the
free arm sensors 5, 6 during embroidery stitching operation to
indicate the effect at the display 41 so that the machine user may
be informed of the effect to change the moving direction of the
embroidering frame 23 in the Y-direction. Otherwise, the CPU 1 may
be operated to control the X Y motor drive circuit 20 so as to stop
the embroidering frame 23.
[0036] Further, according to the embodiment, the frame moving
button 4 is operated prior to initiation of embroidery stitching
operation to discriminate if a designated pattern may be
embroidered or not.
[0037] This operation is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.
[0038] FIG. 5 shows the operation for designating a pattern to be
embroidered.
[0039] With operation of the pattern selecting buttons 2, a pattern
is designated (step S1) to be embroidered and then a size of the
pattern is designated (step S2). Subsequently the needle position
designating button 3 is operated to designate a needle position or
a fixed needle position is designated (steps S3, S4, S5).
[0040] Subsequently the frame moving button 4 is operated to move
the embroidering frame 23 in the Y-direction far from the machine
user (step S6) until the work 60 is detected by the free arm sensor
5 which is arranged at the front side of the free arm 50 (step S7)
as shown in FIG. 3. Then the embroidering frame 23 is moved back
toward the machine user (step S8) until the work 60 is detected by
the free arm sensor 6 which is arranged at the rear side of the
free arm 50 (step S9) as shown in FIG. 4.
[0041] The calculating device 7 is then operative to calculate out
the area where the designated pattern is embroidered. Then the
discriminating device is operative to discriminate if the
designated pattern may be embroidered or not in the calculated area
(step S10). The discriminated result is indicated at the display 41
(steps S11, S12).
[0042] With the process of operations as mentioned above, the
machine user may know if the designated pattern of the size may be
embroidered in the designated position.
[0043] FIG. 6 shows the operation for acknowledging an area where a
designated pattern may be embroidered.
[0044] The embroidering frame 23 is mounted to the machine (step
S20). The frame moving button 4 is operated (step S21) to move the
embroidering frame 23 in the direction far from the machine user in
the Y-direction (step S22) until the free arm sensor 5 arranged at
the front side of the free arm 50 detects the work 60 (step S23) as
shown in FIG. 3. With the work 60 being detected by the free arm
sensor 5, the embroidering frame 23 is stopped and the stopped
position is stored in the temporary memory 12 (step S24).
Subsequently the embroidering frame 23 is moved back toward the
machine user in the Y-direction (step S25) until the free arm
sensor 6 arranged at the rear side of the free arm 50 detects the
work 60 (step S26) as shown in FIG. 4. With the work 60 being
detected by the free arm sensor 6, the embroidering frame 23 is
stopped and the stopped position is stored in the temporary memory
12 (step S27). Then the calculating device 7 is operative to
calculate out the area where the designated pattern is embroidered
(step S28) on the basis of the information including the stopped
positions of the embroidering frame 23 stored in the temporary
memory 12 and indicates the area at the display 41 (step S29).
[0045] In case the machine user selects a fixed needle position
with or without designation of a needle position by operation of
the needle position designating button 3 (steps S30, 31, 32) and
designates a pattern and a size of the pattern with operation of
the pattern selecting buttons 2 (step S33), the discriminating
device 8 will discriminate if the designated pattern may be
embroidered or not (step S34). In case the discrimination is
negative, the machine user is required to change the needle
position ( steps S35, 36) by operation of the needle position
designating button 3 or to change the designated pattern and/or the
size thereof (step S33).
[0046] As is described above, according to the embroidery stitching
device and sewing machine having a free arm for embroidery
stitching operation of the invention, the cylindrical work such as
the sleeves of clothes and the cuffs of trousers may be embroidered
in an area which is detected by the free arm sensors 5 and 6 which
are provided to detect the contact between the free arm and the
work to indicate the contact to the machine user or to stop the
movement of the embroidering frame 23.
[0047] Further, with provision of the stitching area calculating
device 7 and the discriminating device 8, it is possible to decide
if a designated pattern may be embroidered or not.
[0048] The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that
the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be
regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention,
and all such modifications are intended to be included within the
scope of the following claims.
* * * * *